It’s the last time you’ll be around for one of these. It only happens twice every 100 to 130 years, always eight years apart. It is a remarkable planetary dance of the rarest type, and it’s sandwiched in between last month’s Solar Eclipse and this month’s lunar eclipse, to boot! It’s called a “transit of Venus,” and the last half of the latest pair will be happening Tuesday June 5th, from about 4:00 pm til 9:00 pm (PDT).

Venus will appear to move directly across the front of the Sun, as seen from Earth. Unlike an eclipse, it’s not really something you can see with the naked eye, so here is a nice little four minute video that shows you what will happen:

Venus passes by the Sun about twice a year. Normally though, it‘s at a different angle to the Earth and it does not pass within the height of the Sun’s disk, so it appears to pass either above or below the Sun. In these times, the Sun’s brightness blocks it out in daylight.

It’s so rare an event that astrologers have precious little experience to rely on in trying to interpret it, but there are some interesting clues. Every pair of Venus transits over a period of 4000 years (including this year’s) has occurred in Sagittarius and Gemini, which are signs that govern communication and exploration. It’s said that Venus transits mark breakthroughs in communications, revolutions of understanding, and shifts in consciousness.

For instance, in the eight years between the Venus transits of the 16th century, Magellan began the first circumnavigation of the globe and Cortez encountered the Aztec culture; just the year before, the Protestant reformation began. During the 17th century’s transits, Descartes published his ideas that led to the reductionist view of thought that dominates our western culture even today. These are revolutionary ideas and explorations that changed history drastically.

The transits of Venus connect with the ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures’ beliefs about one of their primary gods, Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, respectively. The Mayans believed that a Venus transit was a key timing “trigger” in history. The later Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl would return when a Venus transit occurred. But the very next year, they got the Conquistadores instead.

Venus’ orbital patterns connect in such a way that between its transits, its path of motion with respect to the Earth traces out quite a harmonious geometric pattern. It is based on the famous mathematical ratio 1.6 (8 years, 5 cycles), known as the “Divine Proportion:” http://www.summum.us/philosophy/phi.shtml

What will happen now, or is happening now, since the first half of this Venus transit happened in 2004? How about internet-based social media for one? What else have you seen, and what might happen in the rest of this 2012 year? Keep all this in mind as we move forward into this critical transitional time in our human history.

A primary interpretation of Mayan prophecy states that a new consciousness will be born on the occasion of 2012’s Venus transit. (Can you think of a better time to meditate for enlightenment, or envision a better future for our planet and its life?)